


Love Fools

by piratenat



Series: Stay With Me; Always [DISCONTINUED, Sorry] [3]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Boys In Love, Friendship/Love, Get me out of the tags sorry >., M/M, Mostly Luhan though, Sehun and Tao are not an official thing but I tagged them together because they come out. Sorry., Sibling Love, They're all love Fools
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-28
Updated: 2016-12-28
Packaged: 2018-09-12 21:02:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9090637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/piratenat/pseuds/piratenat
Summary: Love Fool- An individual who is in love with their significant other but they are not loved back. They long for love from the other person and would do anything for him or her.Or in this case, they don't know a thing about love, but will do anything for them because they're love fools.





	

Ever since Jongin and Jongdae got permission to stay with Saint Zhang and Yixing, Jongin grew envious of his brother and his relationship with Yixing. He never thought of a couple as "cute" or "goals", but he does know when two people are happy and in love and Jongdae and Yixing are it. When Saint Zhang calls and announces that she'll be a bit late coming home, Jongdae and Yixing get started on cooking dinner together. And the way they move - in sync with each other without speaking but knowing specifically what the other wants - it reminds Jongin of dancing. Jongdae doesn't consider himself a dancer, even though he moves just fine occasionally joining both Yixing and Jongin in learning some dance moves with them, but yet when it came down to both Yixing and Jongdae doing something together, it looked natural. A bit airy and flowy and graceful and just right, it makes Jongin jealous.

And it makes him jealous because he wants that. He wants to experience what it's like to be in sync with someone 24/7. Whether they are in the same room or not, there's still some sort of connection. He wants to "dance" with someone the way Jongdae and Yixing dance with each other. He wants that so much, yet he's afraid of having that, because he wants that with the right person for a long time and not for a while. He doesn't want to break up with someone, ever, he wants his forever right now because it seems that his brother already found his. Because it feels like the people around him already found theirs and Jongin still has no idea what he even wants. He gets jealous sometimes seeing two people together, but also a part of him wants to be part of that love. So at times when Jongdae and Yixing are cuddling on the couch together, Jongin finds a way to squeeze in and be part of the cuddling also. And he likes that they never push him off or away. In fact they will find a solution to make it comfortable for all of them.

Jongin in his senior year has the option to choose what he wants to do. Does he want to work or study? Does he want to study close by or does he want to travel somewhere? What does he even want to study? Or should he just focus on his dancing? Tao and Sehun seem to have it figured out. Study first, travel the world together, then open up some business that Jongin assumes is a clothing line. It will be a long road trip after college, just the three of them, if Jongin decides to join along. He would love to travel with them but Jongin doesn't have the kind of money the two of them have, and he's not even sure if he even wants to travel, when the farthest he's ever been away from home was going to a town up north. Kyungsoo wants to study cooking, but at the same time he wants to be part of the school's choir as he likes to sing. Maybe someday he'll open up a good food, cheap prices, family restaurant where there is entertainment every night. In the meantime he'll work hard to pass his exams.

Yixing is studying music but is also part of a dance team, Junmyeon is studying law, Luhan is playing soccer along with Minseok but Minseok is also studying business as he wants to open up a coffee shop some time later on, Kris is playing college basketball and wants to make it to the NBA, Baekhyun is apparently part of a competitive gaming team but is studying at the side whatever catches his interest, Chanyeol is studying music as well and is still part of his high school band who are trying hard to tour but can't seem to make it, and Jongdae who is not studying at all still has a job, something Jongin can't get because Jongdae insists for him to study instead. Everyone has something or someone and Jongin has nothing. And for the first time ever Jongin feels like he can't go to his brother for help at all because Jongdae seems to be getting into a paternal role instead of being his older brother. Luckily he has Saint Zhang.

Saint Zhang who is patient and knows what to say, and brings him all sorts of medical field pamphlets because he thinks maybe working in the medical field is for him, has agreed to help Jongin out in his dilemma. _"The nice thing about it though, is that you don't have to decide right now, you can decide later. And you're not limited either, you can do whatever you want. You don't have to stick to just one thing at all. Just do what you want to do and it will all work out at the end."_ And that, Jongin keeps in mind the next day at school when he's in his home room class and they have to write down goals they would like to achieve now that they're seniors. The first thing he writes is graduate from high school. The second, 'to find my forever'. He stares down at the paper one more time before handing it in and hopes his "goals" come true.

-

Now that Jongin is a senior and Jongdae got his diploma and is no longer bound to school, Jongin has realized that some people have become different towards him. Some approach him and ask him if he's doing OK or if he's involved with any school activities that he would like to be part of, Jongin thinks of them as really nice, while others seem to think that it's ok to pick on Jongin now that Jongdae is not around. He tends to ignore them when they do pick on him though.

So far they've only called him names so he doesn't want to get involved with something so low and petty. But as more and more people approach him he's finding out that, even though their intentions are good, he can't help but feel like they're only approaching him because they take pity in him. Both of his parents are gone, is probably in the foster care system, and Jongdae is arrested somewhere or gone and doesn't care about Jongin at all, but then again those are some of, what he considers classic rumors, going around about him and his family around school. His favorite so far is that Jongin is living with strippers and sometimes goes on stage and strips every night while Jongdae apparently is some sort of pimp to one of the strippers. _At least I would get paid good money,_ he thinks. _500 a night doesn't sound so bad._

One of the worst ones, which some of it was true, is that Jongdae is sleeping around with guys and abandoned Jongin while Jongin is in the foster care system and gets treated really badly. It doesn't sound so bad at first but when he hears people add that it's been that way since his freshman year and that his mom died because she kept sleeping around with men and only doing it for drugs, Jongin almost always loses his cool. He doesn't care what they have to say about Jongdae because he knows Jongdae can always handle them and has proved a lot of people wrong when he and Yixing hooked up, but now when it comes to his mom, and disrespecting her memory, Jongin doesn't take it, or at least pretends he's ok with it but deep down something in him is breaking tables. When he goes to his dance class, that's when he lets all of the frustration out and cries to himself and quietly sends an apology to his mom. Inside he's breaking tables, in the outside he's clenching his fist tight and staring daggers at the people who are bringing that up. He wishes he was like Jongdae in some ways, but unfortunately he will never be like Jongdae. He keeps these sorts of thing to himself while Jongdae speaks up about it and Jongin never learned to be like that.

One day though he's had enough.

On a Thursday afternoon during lunch time, the same guys who started to think that it's ok for them to pick on Jongin, decided to pick on Jongin that day. Kyungsoo, Tao, and Sehun didn't know about Jongin getting picked on. He never mentioned it to them and he never brought it up. So it's a bit of a surprise to them when the guys sit around their table and start asking Jongin if his mom and Jongdae ever have free nights where people don't have to pay for them. Passive Jongin just ignores them,stares at them and quirks his eyebrow up a little as he didn't think of them as dudes who like to take it up the ass. That comment is said out loud from Sehun while Tao adds a comment about Jongdae being too good to be messing around with a couple of low lives like them. Jongin just laughs to himself because these are his friends. He doesn't really have to say or do much because his friends are already jumping up to defend him. Tao knows martial arts, Sehun may not know how to fight but knows what to say to people to hurt them with words, and Kyungsoo who may not seem like it is pretty strong too. But Kyungsoo chooses not to fight as well but is not afraid to add hurtful comments either.

"You guys better apologize to Jongin right now before I make sure your tiny little shriveled up pea brains get fucked out."

" _You're_ going to make sure of that?!" one of the guys yells out as Kyungsoo looks directly at them and answers.

"Yeah, I'll make sure of that. You come here again insulting his mother's memory and insult his brother, who we all know can kick your asses, and watch what we'll do."

The guys don't believe him. Why would they? Kyungsoo who has always been a bit smaller than everyone around him, large round eyes making him seen as really innocent, and doesn't really talk much in class, people automatically assume him to be as the shy cute type. No one will believe Kyungsoo is a strong guy that can have some rage in him. Especially morons like the ones in front of him. So they laugh at Kyungsoo, while Tao and Sehun are watching really still what the next move will be.

"Listen, we didn't come here for you. We came for Jongin. So, where's our answer Jongin? Are they both free or do we need to make some sort of appointment with them now? I didn't think they could get any classier, I guess they upgraded to class A. Do they get paid more, now that they're in the higher ranks? Or are they still cheap like before?" Jongin's friends have had enough, immediately standing up and pushing the guys away and trying to make them apologize, while Jongin just sits and watches. It's the second, one of them throw a punch at Kyungsoo that Jongin quickly stands up and grabs the guy by the collar and pins him hard against the table. Kyungsoo luckily blocked the punch, but that little moment made Jongin go back to memory lane when kids will pick on Kyungsoo for being small and for crying in class because he misses his mom or was too shy to go up and do show and tell or recite the days of the weeks during grade school. He was swiftly returned back to the old days where Jongin would stay by Kyungsoo's side the whole time and everyday too because they were class buddies and didn't want to leave Kyungsoo alone. He remembers the day Jongdae came stomping towards him and Kyungsoo and the group of kids who were picking on him, and Jongdae was the one who hurt them all and took the blame for everything. Jongin realized then that he always wanted to protect Kyungsoo because he always thought that nice people are hard to find. Especially nice people who are nice to his brother. Kyungsoo hugged Jongdae so hard and cried against him that day as he thanked him for saving his life, that Jongin decided that Kyungsoo is someone who needed to be protected.

Today, it seems that Jongin needs to be protected while Kyungsoo is doing the saving, which is why Jongin had to do something.

The guy underneath Jongin finds a way to push him off though and move away to throw a punch, but it's Tao that's pushing Jongin back so he could step back then step forward to throw a punch at the guy. It's short lived though because security guards are running towards them and handcuffing all of them to take them to the security office. A bad idea, especially for seniors. If they get caught by security guards, no matter what it is, they won't be able to be part of the graduation ceremony. Jongin sees that it's only him and Tao that are getting arrested, a huge relief that it wasn't all of them, but finds it a bit unfair that only him and Tao are handcuffed while the guys who started it are getting pushed or escorted towards the building. He also thinks about Saint Zhang's and Jongdae's reactions towards him getting arrested in school and he knows that they won't be too happy about it.

-

It's in the middle of the kitchen that Yixing hisses a little but bites his lip very hard as Jongdae is behind him and is softly running his fingers through his hair. They're both shirtless and covered in hair while Jongdae quietly turns the electric hair trimmer on and starts shaving at Yixing's hair. He's shaving the sides off and possibly the underside of his back head as well as they both felt that they needed a haircut. Jongdae has experience giving buzz cuts to people as he's done it before on both guys and girls, but he was a bit hesitant on shaving Yixing's hair off. Jongdae shaved his sides off and was only left with the top part of his hair, but Yixing took the trimmer away from him and told him that he'll finish him off. It turned out to be a plan though as Jongdae sat on the floor in between Yixing's legs that Yixing spoke up and told Jongdae that he now has to do his hair.

"But -"

"You're not going to hurt me and you're not going to ruin it. Trust me like I trust you." It took a minute but Jongdae agreed and wiped whatever hair he could get off of himself then motioned at Yixing to remove his shirt as well and sit for his turn. Jongdae couldn't figure out what to give him, but he always was a fan of Yixing's curly hair so he wanted to keep it as much as possible but still give him a shaven look, so he settled on shaving one side of Yixing's hair off. Yixing keeps groaning though as maybe Jongdae is shaving too close or because he keeps tangling his fingers through Yixing's curls, but whatever it is it's making Jongdae want to stop altogether in fear of hurting him. Yixing reassures him by wrapping his arms around Jongdae's legs and hugs it close to his chest. Jongdae has to admit though that he likes the way Yixing's body moves whenever he makes Yixing groan or hiss. His abs clench and unclench. His arms wrap tight around Jongdae's legs, while his head rests on his lap, or sometimes Jongdae has to push Yixing's head down to shave the back properly and it makes him look like he's in submission while his arms rest over Jongdae's legs. It isn't much but it makes Jongdae smile really wide as things like these aren't so weird or wrong even with Luhan walking through the front door without knocking or ringing the doorbell and pulls up a chair beside Jongdae as he watches.

"New kink?"

"You bet." Jongdae answers not giving Luhan a glance. Luhan gets up instead and starts looking through the cabinets to find something to munch on.

"Well hi to you too, best friend." Yixing mumbles as he saw who it was. He still has to keep his head down as Jongdae continues with the trimmer.

"Hey." Luhan answers unenthusiastically, finding some crackers and taking the whole box with him as he sits down by Jongdae again. Jongdae stops for a second to let Yixing look up at Luhan as Jongdae was doing the same.

"What was that tone for?"

"What do you mean?"

"Hey." Jongdae repeats, the same way Luhan did a few seconds ago. Luhan starts to blush a little but then quickly gets angry that they noticed the tone.

"Ahh!" Luhan yells out, getting up to find something to drink now. "You guys weren't suppose to notice until later."

"Well do you want us to try again?" Yixing asks, once again back to his head down position as Jongdae continues. "We can try again."

"No, what's the point, you already noticed." Luhan takes a long sip of the coke he found then lets out the loudest disgusting burp ever that has Jongdae scrunching his face in disgust and looking at Luhan in disgust as well. Jongdae may be from the streets, but he definitely knows some manners.

"At least say excuse me, nasty!"

"Oh sorry. No!"

Yixing sighs. "Dude, say it. That was nasty. Jongdae doesn't tolerate that kind of nastiness."

"I don't care." Luhan adds, taking some crackers in his mouth then moving the coke to his lips to drink again. Jongdae stops him though by taking the can away and setting it down by the table.

"Even street kids don't have manners like you." Jongdae scolds, now taking Luhan's crackers away as well. Luhan scoffs but doesn't leave. He slides down a little to set his feet flat on the ground as his knees bend. "Something is up and you're being childish about it, now talk."

"I didn't know you were so classy." Luhan teases instead but Yixing is the one commenting and agreeing.

"Oh Jongdae is very classy. We went out to this fancy place once and he was the only one who knew what fork to use and what not to use."

Luhan turns to look at Jongdae. "You're kidding." He says, but finds Jongdae blushing and setting the hair clipper down, picking up some scissors now to trim some of Yixing's hair off.

"Uhh no actually. You know that guy? The one I was living with? He apparently had a rich fancy client that wanted me... To... You know, so I had to learn some things before I went."

"Oh." Luhan says then stays quiet after that. Every since Jongdae and Jongin were able to stay, Jongdae doesn't talk much about the past or what he experienced while he was away. And the others seem to understand that and see Jongdae as wanting to start over so they let him. They never ask him anything so Luhan feels a bit bad for getting Jongdae to admit something like that. "Sorry."

"It's no big deal. She just wanted dinner company and a fat bag of coke. I got a steak and lobster and then some good night's sleep. It was a good day." Jongdae notices the silence coming from the two of them and decides that the next thing he does won't be so awkward, so he grips Yixing's hair a little and pulls his head back to give his lips a lick then shove his tongue down his throat for what seems like a split second then pulls away. "You next?" He asks, directed to Luhan but Luhan makes a face and reaches for his coke and crackers.

"Nah I'm good. Just promise that you two won't get it on right here right now."

"Promise." Jongdae answers, getting back to cutting as Yixing smacks Jongdae's leg for kissing him like that. Jongdae laughs as that was the first thing he could think of to get them to move on, but he really didn't want them to think too much about it when he hasn't thought about what he did too much himself. His motto right now is "what's in the past is in the past" and he'll keep it like that. He's not proud of it but it did get him to where he's at today and it made him learn and grow from it. So he's not exactly hating the past either he just doesn't want to talk about it or even think about it. "So what's up with you?"

"Are you bummed that soccer season is over?" Yixing mumbles, resting his head against Jongdae's lap but looking up towards Luhan.

"No it's not that."

"Then what is it?"

"Me and Minseok broke up."

"What?!" Jongdae and Yixing yell out, Jongdae quickly turning to look at Luhan while Yixing sits up and looks over at his friend as well. Both of them are wearing similar expressions on their faces, Luhan would normally laugh, but not today.

"We broke up."

"We heard. We mean what as in why?" Jongdae adds.

"We weren't working out. We're too far away from each other, it's hard to have dates and shit like that, so we broke it up."

Jongdae is not buying it. "We or you?"

Luhan hesitates. Jongdae sighs deeply and reaches for something to hit Luhan's arm with. "Ow! Why are you hitting me?"

"You broke up with Minseok!" Jongdae yells out, trimming Yixing's hair with the scissors one last time so he can finish up. When he's done he taps Yixing's shoulder to get him to sit up on the chair and wipe the hair off of himself the best he can so Jongdae can sweep it up.

"He deserves actual dates and cuddling and all good things and not Luhan who is stuck in classes all day and stuck at the field training."

"Isn't he training too?" Yixing asks as Jongdae is now looking around for the broom to sweep up.

Luhan sighs. "He's only going to do a year of college soccer then he's focusing on getting his business degree after."

"That doesn't sound too bad." Jongdae says loudly as he stuck his head out the backyard to see if the broom is out there but no luck.

Luhan sighs again. Deeply. "I just thought that he was going to play soccer for at least 2 years, where one we'll play against each other and the other we'll actually be a team. Like old times. But I guess he wants to focus on learning business than playing soccer together like we always talked about."

Yixing looks over and finds Jongdae on the floor, on his knees, sticking his butt out in front of the cabinet underneath the sink looking for something. He can't help but smile. "Baby, the broom will not be in there."

"I know, but I can't find the big broom so now I'm looking for the hand one to sweep the hair up but it's not here either."

"Try the garage." Yixing tells him while Jongdae carefully gets out of the cabinet so he won't hit his head against it. He does smack Luhan one more time and calls him an idiot as he walks away from the kitchen and heads towards the garage, leaving Luhan groaning and rubbing his head. "He is right though. You don't break up with someone because it's long distance, especially when you two like each other. You break up with someone when it's long distance because you've fallen for someone else and I doubt you've fallen for anyone."

"Maybe I have." Luhan lies, Yixing seeing right through it.

"No you haven't. You care deeply about Minseok."

Luhan sighs then sits up straight to look at his friend. "Ok I do. I miss him. But!" He pauses for a second, Yixing giving him a look to get him to continue but Luhan just ends up sighing then groaning. "What if we used our connection and turned it into a couple like connection instead of friendship? He's been my best friend since as long as I could remember, then out of nowhere we decide to date because we made out one night? It's just..."

"You guys made out?!" Jongdae yells out from the room or hallway, Luhan presumes, staying quiet as a shirtless Jongdae with a huge smile on his face comes running towards the kitchen with a broom between his legs. "When did this happen?"

"You do know that Halloween is long over, right?"

"Shut the hell up and answer. When did you two hook up?" Jongdae more like commands, stepping toward the pile of hair now to start sweeping.

Luhan groans again. "It was a while back actually. So it doesn't matter, but that's when I realized that maybe I could have more than just friendly feelings towards him."

"Wait. So the day we were asking you about who you were cheating on Jongdae with, that day in Kris' and Tao's house, you two were already having feelings for each other?" Yixing asks. Jongdae stops sweeping to remember when that day it was and it was the same day Jongin and Jongdae announced that they were going to leave with their grandmother. It was also the day he felt that those two were hiding something.

Luhan nods. "We already made out but we never really talked about it or anything. We officially got together when we thought Jongdae was leaving. BECAUSE HE MADE US!" Luhan yells out the last part making Jongdae laugh out loud.

"I did not. I just told you to tell him how you feel not to hook up. You can't blame me."

"He's right. But I still think it's stupid to end things just because you think it's long distance. Instead of coming here you could've drove over to see him." Yixing says as Jongdae nods as he agrees. Luhan's school is not far from Yixing's place, he's just in the next town. Minseok is the one that's out of state but still nearby and Luhan could've made the drive just fine but instead decided to drive to Yixing's place instead of going over to see Minseok. When Luhan realizes this, he leans forward and groans, a hand covering his eyes as he shakes his head.

"How could I be so stupid?"

"We really don't know. But you're definitely a love fool, Luhan." Jongdae admits as he finishes up sweeping the kitchen floor.

Yixing places a hand onto his friend's shoulder to give it a squeeze. "Clearly you don't know anything about love, but luckily Minseok is patient and you two could learn together." Yixing smiles at his friend then looks up at Jongdae. They're still not perfect but they're definitely learning together. And that's what being in love is all about. Learning and growing together.

-

Kyungsoo wasn't a big fan of studying but he liked to read books, and that's where you'll find Kyungsoo working, at a book store making sure the books were placed neatly and alphabetically in their shelves, while Jongin would sometimes go there straight after school to spend some time with his friend. He had a group of girls sit around him during class today asking him if he was interested in dating one of their friends who is known to be the future Prom queen. She's beautiful, at times, Jongin will admit, but she just isn't his type. She'll definitely win prom queen by her personality but the only reason why they're asking Jongin to date her is because they think a beautiful girl and a handsome guy should be together and win the whole prom thing. Jongin is not even sure if he's going to prom at all.

"Then don't go." Kyungsoo says laughing a little, putting the pricing tag on the book as its been put on sale. He started off with a whole box of books without the pricing tag and now he was about a dozen away from being done with the whole task. And Jongin is sure he didn't start off with just one box but several of them.

"It's our senior year though. Tao and Sehun have high hopes of all of us going together."

"Tao and Sehun also have high hopes of getting laid, but we all know they need to hold each other's hands to do that together."

Jongin stares off a little as he thinks about that image, but it just makes him shiver and shake that thought away. "I guess you're right, but I really don't want to hurt the girl's feelings."

"Do you like her?" Kyungsoo suddenly asks, shoving a stack of books away so he can start a new stack. Jongin shakes his head though, making Kyungsoo smile. "Then there you go. If she thinks she'll win prom queen by using you, she's definitely in the wrong. You also shouldn't go with her just because you don't want to hurt her feelings. And if you don't want to go but think you should because our idiot friends want you to, then screw it and just stay home. Your brother didn't go to prom, did he?"

Jongin shrugs. "I think he went to a party that definitely wasn't prom. And I think Yixing didn't go either because of his grandmother. Why?" 

"Just wondering. I thought Yixing did go though. If they don't have plans that night, just hang out with them." Kyungsoo says, grabbing more 20% off stickers to stick on the front cover of the book from underneath the counter. There's a cabinet there with a bunch of supplies, even though the counter space and cabinet itself looks small. It always surprises Jongin as he always thinks it's just a counter.

Jongin leans forward and starts playing with the flower pens they have available for the customers to use. "Nah, I'm pretty sure he didn't go, even though he did go with Luhan and them to go pick out suits. Prom is by the end of the school year anyway, I'm sure they'll have something that night, if not I'll ask them." Jongin pauses, looking down at the flower pens then glances up at Kyungsoo. "So what about you? Are you going to prom?" Jongin asks. He feels a presence behind him so he moves out of the way for Kyungsoo to help the person out. Jongin recognizes her as a quiet girl in his history class. She's definitely the kind of girl he'll fall for. He certainly finds her being quiet quite charming, maybe she can be his forever, but when Kyungsoo smiles at the girl and waves her off, Jongin blushes.

"What did you ask me again?" Kyungsoo asks, going back to the task at hand. Jongin laughs then repeats the question. "Oh. Well like you said, prom isn't until by the end of the school year, I'll decide by then."

"Let me know when you decide so I'll go with you." Kyungsoo smiles at Jongin, a small blush creeping on his face. They stand around in silence for a bit, Kyungsoo finishing up while Jongin goes through one of the books Kyungsoo has finished when Kyungsoo speaks up again.

"You and Tao didn't get in that much trouble, right?"

Jongin blinks, Kyungsoo is referring to him and Tao getting arrested at lunch that day. Kyungsoo gets to leave early while Jongin has to stay one more class period so Kyungsoo doesn't know what exactly happen to the two of them. "No, we were let go with a warning but the other guys, I think they won't graduate. I kind of feel bad."

"You were always too kind." Kyungsoo comments, writing down something on a piece of paper. "That's what they get for being idiots and picking on you." Kyungsoo stops then looks up at Jongin. "How come you didn't tell us that those guys were picking on you in the first place?" He asks. He sounds upset and Jongin didn't mean to make his friend upset. He just wanted to deal with it by himself. "We tell each other everything Jongin, and you couldn't tell me, your best friend?"

"I'm sorry. I just... I wanted to handle it on my own. _Especially_ on my own because the reason they didn't even pick on me in the first place was because of my hyung. Now that he's not there, I wanted to prove that I could handle it just as much as him, but clearly you guys... It feels like I just sat there while you, Tao and Sehun did it for me. And I don't want people to do things for me. I appreciate it but I just wanted to handle them on my own so that's why I never said anything to either of you."

Kyungsoo frowns but then smiles a little. "You didn't tell Tao and Sehun?" 

Jongin shakes his head no. "Nope. Not even them."

"Ok. Then I guess I feel a bit better that you didn't tell them either." Jongin laughs out loud while Kyungsoo just smiles.

"You'll always be first than them, I promise."

Jongin smiles at Kyungsoo, blushing a little. He stares at Kyungsoo as Kyungsoo nods then pretends to be really busy with the last book he has to do. "Good. I like being first."

They don't say much after that until Jongin decides to ask Kyungsoo something. "Since when did you turn into the protective strong one and I, the weak one?" Kyungsoo laughs then shrugs, making Jongin look at him seriously.

"I don't think I'm the protective strong one at all. I think you are, to be completely honest."

Jongin smiles. He suddenly remembers what Jongdae has said to him before when they were younger. Jongdae had to fight some kids that were picking on Jongin and Kyungsoo that resulted to Jongdae not wanting to go home that day because he didn't want his mom and Jongin's dad to see him beaten up. So they went to the river where Jongin tried to find something cold to put on Jongdae’s face while Kyungsoo cried again that it's his fault that Jongdae got beat up. Jongin ended up filling a water bottle full of the cold river water so Jongdae can put it on.

_"Hyung, why do you always fight? You should let us do the fighting some time."_

_"I only do it because I care about you. And NO ONE should pick on you, but you also need to learn that fighting isn't everything."_

_"Then why do you do it?"_

_"Because hyung is a love idiot that loves you too much to see you get hurt. I also trust that you'll make the right decisions. I'll make all the wrong ones while you make all the right ones. If you choose not to fight you'll always be smarter and braver than me, trust me. You'll be protective and strong in my eyes no matter what."_

Jongin smiles as maybe Kyungsoo took what Jongdae said all those years ago and learned from it or... 

"I guess I'm a love fool too." Jongin smiles so wide while Kyungsoo just blushes as he's not known to make comments like that but since it's Jongin, Kyungsoo knows that Jongin will never judge him.

"Thanks. But can you let me do this by myself? I want to protect the ones I love also."

Kyungsoo nods. "Sure, but you know you don't have to do things by yourself."

"I know." Jongin adds, a smile spreading on his face and grabbing a box to help Kyungsoo carry the boxes over. They're carrying then to the empty shelf available at the front so they can neatly put the books in place. They're quietly putting the books on the shelf when Jongin comes to the realization of what the two of them are doing.

 _We're in synch!_ He says to himself. He stops to stare at Kyungsoo again as Kyungsoo continues putting the books away when he notices that Jongin has stopped. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just randomly thought of something."

"Ok. I'm going to go get the price tag." Jongin nods and watches Kyungsoo leave, smiling to himself that he actually experienced being in synch with someone outside of dancing. He experienced what Yixing and Jongdae go through all the time and Jongin has the most insane bubbling amazing feeling start from his toes, slowly reaching all the way to the top, now letting it out with a laugh. He'll get in trouble since there are a lot of people sitting around reading the books or magazines but he doesn't care, it was definitely worth it.

Since he was little he always felt strong emotions towards Kyungsoo, whether protective, or he cares way too much about him, he just knew that he always liked Kyungsoo and probably had a different type of love towards him compared to Tao and Sehun and even his brother. Now that they're older he knows Kyungsoo feels the same way but the two of them wouldn't exactly call it being _in love_ with each other either. They just love each other and care about each other and would do anything for each other, they wouldn't mind living together as well, but doing so a lot of people will think of them as being a couple and that's exactly what they don't want. They don't want to be a couple but they wouldn't mind being a couple either. Jongin likes girls, he'll admit it, but he also likes Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo is not really interested in people, or falls for their attractions but he exactly wouldn't mind if it was Jongin. Neither of them don't know what exactly they are but the two of them know that if Kyungsoo's parents found out, if Jongin's grandmother found out as well, they'll both be in trouble.

It wasn't a big surprise to Jongin that Jongdae and Yixing ended up together. It was just a big surprise to him that Jongdae and Veronica ended up breaking up. Jongdae always said that he didn't care who the person was or what they identify themselves as, if Jongdae likes them he likes them. He'll be with them no matter what, but at the same time Jongdae never actively seeked out people to be in a relationship with them. Jongdae did feel that he would end up with Veronica though since they were both alike in so many ways, they were also each other's best friends, it wasn't a healthy relationship but in their messed up ways they were definitely each other's best friends, and Jongdae was never really some horny crazed teenager that just wanted to sleep with people. He only did so because he wanted a bed to sleep in at nights. It was wrong for him but it was also wrong for others to promise him a nice bed but at the end demand sex in return. If Jongdae was ok with being with a guy or girl or anyone, then so was Jongin. But Jongin also doesn't want to be with anyone unless he feels comfortable and safe with them and that person happens to be Kyungsoo. And he knows Jongdae will never judge him for that. He's also the one that will tell Jongin to marry their best friend. _Whether a guy or a girl, make sure you end up with someone that is or could be your best friend throughout everything._

He makes a mental note to ask Saint Zhang if she has any idea what kind of sexuality Jongin has to let Kyungsoo know later. He also knows that just like Jongdae he's not that crazy about sex either and will never be able to understand why a bunch of girls call him a "sex God" when he's never kissed anyone before. But whatever the outcome is, Kyungsoo will always hold a special place in his heart. Whatever they choose, Jongin knows that it will always be Jongin and Kyungsoo even if they're not an official thing. When Kyungsoo comes back they silently finish up, Jongin frowning after as he has to go home or he'll miss the bus when he promised Jongdae and Yixing he'll get home early as they have plans together.

"Before you go though, can I ask you something?" Kyungsoo asks. Jongin nods, sitting down on the carpet floor instead of sitting on his knees, paying attention to Kyungsoo. "This may be weird, but what are we?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know, are we a couple or just best friends with feelings towards each other or?"

Jongin laughs a little, scratching the back of his neck now. "I was kind of thinking the same thing just now."

"Really?" Kyungsoo asks, he's not looking up at Jongin so Jongin reaches forward and lifts his chin up.

"Truth be told, I thought we were just best friends with feelings towards one another but never acted upon them because... Well you know."

"My parents?" Kyungsoo asks and Jongin nods.

"And my grandmother." Jongin adds which surprises Kyungsoo a little.

"Your grandmother?"

"Yup. My mom was cool with my hyung and Yixing dating, I'm sure she would've been cool with us too, but my grandmother... I think one of the reasons she wanted us to go with her was because of my hyung and Yixing being together."

Kyungsoo is staring wide eyed now. "She wanted to separate them?"

"She never admitted it but I mean, grandma is a bit old school, and two guys together... I guess that sort of thing... she's just not used to and seeing her precious baby being with a guy I guess just threw her off a little. And honestly, I didn't mind being separated from you as long as my hyung was happy, but now... Being a senior in high school and suddenly I have to decide everything, I really don't want to be separated from you. You're my best friend, Kyungsoo. Since we were kids you were always there and it would just be weird not being around you. If you're afraid of your parents and their reactions, you know I'll wait. I definitely don't mind being the guy who loves his best friend and lives with him and have a platonic relationship together when really I just want to cuddle the shit out of you."

Kyungsoo laughs. His nose scrunched up a little which makes Jongin feel very giddy and have a million butterflies flutter around crazily. "Honestly, I don't care how my parents will react but I do care about you and... Tao and Sehun told me about that dance scholarship and that you didn't apply... Why didn't you apply, Jongin? Did you do that because of me?"

Jongin looks down now and let's out a sigh. He's leaning against the book shelf and is closing his eyes to count in his head. Jongin has had a habit of counting down whenever he has to explain himself. It gives him a chance to process what he's about to say. "Yes and no." There's a big question mark floating above Kyungsoo's head as he doesn't understand, making Jongin laugh. "Yes I didn't apply because of you but also... I don't know what the hell I want to do in life. I feel like everyone has everything figured out while I'm still deciding."

"Have you talked to Jong-"

"No. I feel like lately I can't talk to him at all because he's gotten very paternal on me, but I did talk to Saint Zhang and she's been bringing me a bunch of medical school's pamphlets and stuff like that but I just... I can't make up my mind, but I do know that it will always be Jongin and Kyungsoo."

Kyungsoo leans against the book shelf and reaches for Jongin's hand to take in his. It's not weird. It always felt right between them. Since day one, not even learning each other's names properly, they held hands. And it will forever be like that. They know it. "I'm kind of confused too, but I agree with you. It will always be us two, and our idiot friends."

Jongin agrees with a nod and a laugh." Us two and our idiot friends and family."

"Senior year sucks."

"Senior year sucks." They both say after one another, staring up at the shelf in front of them and finding the most interesting book tittle or color or shape. After a few minutes, Jongin turns his body towards Kyungsoo and pulls him into a hug.

"I love you, Soo. We'll figure things out together."

"I love you too." Kyungsoo adds, nodding against Jongin as he agrees. They pull away from one another, the two of them getting up as Jongin has to leave now and Kyungsoo has to get back to work. They wave goodbye, promise to call each other or text each other later, and they're off their own way. Kyungsoo watches from the window Jongin leave, waving at Kyungsoo one more time as he waves back when a look of horror plasters itself on his face as he sees a group go towards Jongin and holding out some sort of knife. He quickly runs out to help Jongin to stop the guys but Jongin seemed to have noticed as he turned around to see what was behind him and saw that the guys who were picking on him earlier were walking towards him and one of them were holding a Swiss army blade.

"I'm not going to fucking graduate because of you, Kim Jongin!" he yells out, swinging his arm to try to cut Jongin but failed as Jongin stepped back. Jongin's heart is beating really loud, it's thumping loudly against his ear drums and he can see Kyungsoo from the corner of his eyes running out from the store but he can't hear him at all. He wants to look at Kyungsoo and see if he's OK but the guy from before is really trying hard to cut him and Jongin is trying hard not to get cut. He's noticing a pattern, a synchronization between the two of them but this is not the kind of synch he wants to be in with someone. He's also noticing that the guy is either drunk or high. He swings again but somehow, probably his adrenaline, Jongin grabbed the guy's arm and is trying really hard to get him to drop the weapon. Jongin doesn't know what he's doing though so if he ends up hurting him, it's a good sign but it's really not his intention. He gets punched on his side though, making him yell out as he wasn't expecting that but it angers him to the point where he cracks something and the weapon falls to the ground.

Jongin pushes him away but the guy's friends catch him and help him stand up. Luckily the guys seem like they don't want to get involved much but they're still there yelling and helping their friend out. Jongin makes a split decision to look where Kyungsoo is at, but they have surrounded him while some adults have ran over to get through the circle to stop the fight, but the guy's friends don't let them. It's at that second that Jongin feels a hit on his face and falls backwards. When he looks ahead the guy is moving over to straddle him, holding the blade again, but Jongin being a bit quicker due to dancing, maneuvers the guy under him and starts hitting him. He doesn't remember how or when but next thing he knows he's getting pulled up and being forced to put his arms behind his back and gets shoved away. It's the second time that day that Jongin is getting arrested but this time he's getting arrested for real. He looks out the window and sees Kyungsoo trying to run towards the car to tell him something but can't exactly make out what he's saying.

Jongin sighs and once again thinks about what Jongdae and Saint Zhang will say, he knows his mom will be damn proud though.

-

After a quick shower to get rid of the hair they had across their chests and backs, and Luhan pounding the door telling them to hurry up, Jongdae and Yixing were finally ready to head out to eat. They originally had plans for the two of them and Jongin to hang out together, but since Luhan came over the plans now involve Luhan, so now they were going to call Jongin so they can pick him up and go hang out together. They were out the door when Kyungsoo calls Jongdae up, finding it a bit strange because they never really call each other for anything, getting news that Jongin got arrested and was taken to the station.

"What?! What happened?!" Jongdae yells out, almost losing his balance, he had to put his hand against the wall so he won't fall over. Yixing and Luhan are staring at him wondering what's wrong but Yixing is the one stepping forward to hold Jongdae. "He was being bullied? What?! How come he didn't- OK you're right! I'll go over and let you know of as soon as we get there." Jongdae says, not bothering to say goodbye and ends the call.

"What's wrong?"

"Jongin got arrested!" Jongdae yells out, quickly walking out but then back in as he needs money but he "Fuck, I don't have money to bail him out!" He yells out as he pulls out his wallet and sees a 20 dollar bill while shoving his hand in his other pocket after to see what else he has but he only has pocket lint, a few cents, and a bubble gum wrapper. "Shit!" Jongdae yells out, running back inside to go search for something while Yixing and Luhan are staring at each other.

"Dae! Jongdae! It's ok. We can call my mom and ask her for money!" Yixing yells out as he runs after Jongdae who is in his and Jongin's room and is looking for something underneath his bed. "Baby, we can-" 

"No Yixing, we can't ask your mom for that kind of money. She shouldn't find out either or Jongin- Damn it Jongin!" Jongdae groans as he sits up and put his hands over his face and starts to cry, Yixing immediately going to his side to comfort his boyfriend.

"It's ok, I'm sure he's fine. We'll figure it out."

"No." Jongdae cries, wiping his tears away. He suddenly got a fear that Jongin might end up like Jongdae and that's the last thing Jongdae ever wants. And the fact that Jongin was getting bullied and he got arrested, scared Jongdae. "He was being bullied and Kyungsoo said that the guys started a fight with him and the guy had a knife on him." Jongdae adds on without stopping.

Yixing understands now. "Let's call my mom then so we can get the money to bail him out."

"No, Yixing. We can't do that to her, and it devastate Jongin if he finds out that we got Saint Zhang to bail him out."

"Then we won't-"

"You two are so cute. Can we go?" Luhan asks loudly. Both Jongdae and Yixing are starring daggers at Luhan right now, it makes him laugh. Which angers the couple some more. "Jongin is probably bat shit scared right now and I'm sure wants nothing but to see you right now or talk to you, so let's go and not waste any second. I'll handle the bail." Luhan says out loud. Jongdae is about to say something else but Luhan stops him. "Don't. You don't always have to pay us back all the time, Jongdae. You're our friend and he's our friend and if I need to bail some of you out I'll do it. So come on. Let's go!" Jongdae looks at Yixing to see if Luhan is being very serious or not and when Yixing nods Jongdae is very surprised.

"I hate you."

"I know you really mean love but come on, crybaby." Luhan teases as Yixing smiles as he knows Jongdae feels a bit embarrassed for crying a little.

When they get to the station and Jongdae is able to go see Jongin, Jongin hesitates to get up from the corner he was in and hug his brother. Jongdae nearly has a heart attack or some sort of panic attack when he sees Jongin lift his head up to look who it is. He has a busted lip and a bruise forming at the side of his face and when Jongin slowly stands up straight Jongdae realizes that Jongin is clutching his side, and it's not because he's hungry. Jongin lifts his shirt up to show Jongdae and on the side of his rib there's a long gash. One of the police officers noticed the blood on his shirt and quickly provided first aid on it before they locked him in. It's not a very deep cut but it's there and it has Jongdae brimming with anger.

"Who did this to you?" Jongdae asks. A very calming like tone that Jongin has realized recently that it's Jongdae trying to remain calm but really it's just a fake exterior of him actually ready to pounce on anyone.

"I'm sorry, hyung. I'm not telling you."

"Jongin! Who did this to you?!" Jongdae tries again but Jongin is shaking his head. Jongdae groans and lowers his head to really calm down now. There's not many people around, Jongin was lucky enough to get the whole cell by himself as usually it fills up at night and not mid-afternoon. He sits on the bench now and counts to himself as he waits for Jongdae to finish his countdown. When Jongdae looks up and Jongin reached 10, Jongin just smiles but it just ends up pissing Jongdae off. "Jongin."

"Why are you here, hyung? I didn't call you to come here."

"Why didn't you call me actually? You usually get to call someone and you didn't call me. Did you call Saint Zhang instead?" Jongdae asks as he's now wondering who Jongin would've called, and it's coming to a big surprise that Jongin did in fact not call Jongdae at all.

"I didn't call Saint Zhang. I didn't call anyone. Did Kyungsoo tell you?" Jongdae nods. "Damn it."

"Why didn't you want to call anyone?" Jongdae leans against the bars, trying to make himself lean closer to Jongin, even with the bars in between, he still stretches his arms out to get Jongin to come over and get closer so Jongdae can grab him but Jongin is sitting at the far end of the bench away from his brother. It's driving Jongdae crazy that Jongin is doing this and doesn't understand why in the first place. "Jongin, why didn't you call me?"

Jongin plays with his hands, cracks his fingers, then looks up from them. There's tears in his eyes and Jongdae immediately moves to Jongin's side to reach him but the bars are in the way. "Jongin." Jongdae whispers but it only makes Jongin stand and walk away from his brother. "Jongin!"

"I didn't call you, hyung because... Because lately it seems like you're a dad to me than my brother!" Jongin yells out. Jongdae's shoulders drop, including his face as he takes what Jongin just said and tries to remember when he has done so. Since moving in with Yixing and Saint Zhang, Jongdae felt like he took the role as responsible adult brother. Everything Jongin needed Jongdae will provide it. When Saint Zhang will offer money, Jongdae always declined. When their grandmother promised to send Saint Zhang money so she won't have to struggle, Jongdae declined. Jongdae even told Jongin that if he needs lunch money, to ask him so he can give him some, but because Jongin understands that Saint Zhang wants to help out Jongin denies it, lies to him that he doesn't need it and let's Saint Zhang give him money for a whole week. When Jongin came to Jongdae for job advice, Jongdae immediately told Jongin that he's not getting a job because Jongdae is working and Jongin's main job right now and biggest responsibility is to finish high school and go to college. Jongdae never thought of himself as a parent, until now.

"Shit- Jongin, I'm-"

"Don't say sorry, hyung. Please don't. I just want my hyung back and not parental hyung. I never felt lonely before and for the first time ever I did and it's because you-"

"I know, I know, I know. I'm truly sorry Jongin. Fuck! I should be locked away in there for doing that to you. I just-"

Jongin turns to look at Jongdae, both of them crying now and it's funny to Jongin that he's the one that's locked away but yet it seems like Jongdae is the one locked inside. He feels a bit bad for making Jongdae feel guilty, but he also knows that Jongin is his world so he goes over, always hating seeing Jongdae cry and pulls him into a tight hug. "Promise me you'll be my hyung again?" 

"I swear. Cross my heart and hope to die."

"Don't hope to die, hyung. I'm gonna need you even after." Jongin tells him. Jongdae laughs, burying his face onto his brother's shoulder and whispers out a small apology. "Seriously, hyung. It's alright. I'm sorry I didn't call you. I feel like I just gave you the biggest insult that I didn't and I feel a bit bad about it."

Jongdae pulls away, wiping a tear away then immediately wipes Jongin's. "Yeah. A little. But that's not important right now. How come you didn't tell me that you were getting bullied? I would've-"

"That's one of the reasons why I didn't want to tell you, hyung." Jongin says pulling away from his brother now. "I don't want you doing everything for me. You, Kyungsoo, Tao, Sehun, Saint Zhang, everyone. I wanted to handle this by myself. And also you were being-" 

"Oh right. But I would've-"

"No, hyung. I'm so glad I have you as a brother, and I'm always going to be thankful to you and everything you did, but I think for once you should step back and let me handle things by myself instead of having you there doing everything for me. I love you, hyung but I think it's time that you-"

"You're right." Jongdae speaks up.

"What?"

"You're right. I should let you do things on your own from now on. I'll show you how to fight and we can-"

Jongin's eyes go wide at that. "You'll show me how to fight? Really?"

Jongdae nods, swallowing a lump that was forming in his throat. "I'm not that good, but you should at least use it for self defense." Jongdae suddenly gets crushed against the bars as Jongin has wrapped his arms around his brother and is hugging him tight. There are a few more words being exchanged to one another when Yixing and Luhan finally get to go back after paying the bail out and find the two brothers hugging.

"Aww. Isn't this sweet? The Jong brothers are-"

"Luhan, shut up!" Jongdae yells out as he pulls away from Jongin, letting the others see the busted lip and bruise on Jongin's face.

"Oh my God, my mom is going to flip out when she sees you." Yixing says as Luhan nods. Jongin laughs while Jongdae narrows his eyes at them.

"At least he's still beautiful to look at." Jongdae says, moving away as an officer shows up to open the cell to let Jongin out.

"Yeah. Very true. Too bad we can't say the same to the other Jong Brother." Luhan teases while Jongdae swears at Luhan in front of the officer and steps forward to scare Luhan while he cowers behind the officer. When the cell is open and Jongin steps out, the two brothers hug for real, and like always they walk away holding each other's hands tightly.

-

"Are you sure, hyung? Saint Zhang won't flip out?" Jongin asks as a large tattooed man is mixing inks together while Jongdae is sitting beside him and is holding his brothers hand tight.

"If she does, she loves the Jong Brothers too much. More than Luhan!" Jongdae yells out as Luhan is sitting with Yixing at the lounge area and are looking through a binder full of the tattoo artists works. Jongdae wanted to make it up to Jongin and by doing so he made Luhan take them to a tattoo shop so Jongdae can pay for Jongin's tattoo. It's something Jongin has been wanting to get done every since their mom passed away but never had the guts to actually go and get it done, and most certainly did not have the money.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny."

"You know it's true." Jongdae yells out amused, as he didn't expect Luhan to say anything back. "He's lucky I don't dare him to get a tattoo done for breaking up with Minseok."

Jongin laughs as he's laying back, shirtless, and waiting for the man to at least turn the tattoo gun on so he can decide right then and there if he's going through with it or not. "He broke up with Minseok?"

"Yeah, the love idiot doesn't know a thing about love. They'll figure it out. So, what about you and Kyungsoo?"

"Yeah, they will. Me and Kyungsoo? We're still friends but I think after graduation we'll probably give things a try."

"That's good. He'll tell his parents?"

"He said that he doesn't care, so I guess he'll come out." Jongdae smiles at him, when the man finally turns the tattoo gun on, Jongin freezes up a little but feels his brother's hand pat his arm and tells him it'll be OK.

"I'll be here, mom is here, and you're doing this for her so we both know that she'll do something to the guy if anything goes wrong."

Jongin laughs then nods. Jongdae is right. He nods at the man that he can start and with one quick breath in then slowly exhaled out, Jongin sucks it up and let's the man lean over and starts tattooing a beautiful watercolor sunflower and a butterfly over his heart on his chest in loving memory for his mother. Jongdae is getting it done it too but since it's Jongin's first time, Jongdae doesn't leave his side at all. Jongin finally feels like he can do whatever he wants, and will be closer to finding his forever from here on out. His forever is not right now, but luckily he has a whole lifetime to figure out what exactly he wants. And right now, he's content, and that's all that matters.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry for getting this out really late. I had major writers block on this and I'm just so so sorry. I tried rewriting it but it didn't work out but I did fix some grammar mistakes so hopefully it's decent. Thank you for not having my head for taking long to update, I hope you enjoyed it. ^^ Thank you once again. ^^
> 
> *If Jongin's and Kyungsoo's sexuality is not clear, I'm sorry. I wouldn't call them straight or bisexual or even pansexual, but they do love each other and would love to be together and admit that they're a thing, but at the same time they wouldn't. They're not big on the whole romance thing, they're just a couple who love each other and are keeping things hidden from everyone so Kyungsoo's parents and even Jongin's grandmother don't find out. I'm sorry if it's really confusing.*
> 
>  
> 
> If you're interested in reading this oneshot and the coming up oneshots on Asian fanfics, you can do so **[here!](http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1189956/stay-with-me-always-exo-chenlay-xiuhan-xingdae-highschoolau-krisuho-punkau)** See you there! ^^
> 
>  
> 
> If you want to check out my tumblr or have a chat there or whatever you like, you can do so **[here!](http://sjabe.tumblr.com/)** We can talk about ponies if you like. Thank you and have a great day! ^^


End file.
